Credit cards

August 4, 2008 -- WASHINGTON – Describing the credit card industry as “rife with unfair, deceptive, and predatory practices,” Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., today urged the Federal Reserve to strengthen its proposed regulation aimed at unfair or deceptive credit card practices. In a 13-page letter, Levin, chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, detailed several abusive practices used by credit card issuers that need to be ended.    » read more »

Chicago, IL -- June 11, 2008 -- "Before we begin, I just wanted to say a word about the flooding devastating so many communities. We were scheduled to be holding this event in Iowa, but we decided to cancel it because we didn't want to divert state resources from going to help with flood relief.

Barack Obama poster, San Francisco: Photo by january20th2009 (CC)    » read more »

"Credit Card Reform Act" will put the brakes on wild interest rate hikes, changes in terms of agreements and extreme penalties, among other practices

March 12, 2008 -- WASHINGTON – As an increasing number of Americans fall victim to out-of-control credit card costs and as the credit card market begins to resemble the subprime mortgage market from when the foreclosure crisis began, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today announced a sweeping plan to put an end to deceptive practices and irresponsible marketing.    » read more »

Legislation requires information on Costs of Paying Only the Monthly Minimum Payment to be listed on monthly statements

January 23, 2008 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has introduced legislation that would require credit card companies to warn American consumers of the financial dangers of making only minimum monthly payments on credit card debt.    » read more »

December 07, 2007 -- (ALBUQUERQUE) -- New Mexico Attorney General Gary King’s office today confirmed a $336 million settlement, pending final federal court approval, in a lawsuit against several major credit card companies and their member banks. The antitrust lawsuit is about the price cardholders of Visa, MasterCard, or Diners Club-branded payment cards were charged to make transactions in a foreign currency, or with a foreign merchant.    » read more »

Credit card fraud, "phishing" and other scams often more frequent during peak of holiday shopping

December 6, 2007 -- TALLAHASSEE, FL – Colorado Attorney General Bill McCollum today advised Floridians to be careful when using credit and debit cards to pay for gifts during this holiday shopping season in order to avoid becoming victims of identity theft. The Attorney General also cautioned consumers about a "phishing" scam that has surfaced recently, threatening to expose consumers’ personal financial information.    » read more »

5-Star Safety Rating System Brings Transparency to Credit Card Agreements

December 5, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – Working to give consumers the tools to make informed choices about complex credit card agreements, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Barack Obama (D-IL) today introduced the “Credit Card Safety Star Act of 2007.” The legislation creates a five-star safety rating system for credit cards in order to increase the transparency of credit card agreements and encourage issuers to abandon abusive practices by offering consumers fair terms they can understand.    » read more »

December 4, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today renewed her commitment to advancing meaningful credit card reform amid inconsistencies in the testimony of credit card executives at a hearing of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.    » read more »

Opening Statement of Senator Carl Levin, U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Hearing: Credit Card Practices: Unfair Interest Rate Increases

December 4, 2007 -- This hearing is the second in a series of Subcommittee hearings examining unfair credit card practices.    » read more »

December 3, 2007 -- WASHINGTON – Senators Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Norm Coleman, R-Minn., Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, will hold a hearing on Tuesday, December 4, 2007, to examine the credit card industry’s practice of imposing interest rate increases on cardholders who pay their bills on time in compliance with their credit card agreements.    » read more »

Public Citizen Files Class Action on Behalf of Soldiers and Veterans Nationwide

Nov. 14, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) is breaking the law by taking money from soldiers and veterans who have military credit card debts that were either improperly calculated, too old to collect or both, Public Citizen said today in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco.    » read more »

November 1, 2007 -- INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter is alerting Hoosiers to a troubling scam where con artists call and pretend to be a consumer’s credit card institution informing them of fraud on their account. In reality, the scam artists are attempting to obtain credit card information that would allow them to steal the consumer’s identity.    » read more »

DES MOINES -- Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is urging Iowa college students to avoid slipping into high credit card debt.

“Credit card companies badly want the business of college students, so students are flooded with credit card offers,” Miller said. “Unfortunately, more and more students are slipping into high credit card debt with very serious long-term consequences.”    » read more »

October 22, 2007 -- New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte warns consumers of a recent business practice brought to the attention of the Consumer Protection Bureau by numerous consumers who have called the Consumer Hotline or filed written complaints.

A major credit card company is providing former customers of a major department store with an unsolicited ready-to-activate credit card. The credit card company claims they prefaced the actual mailing of these cards with a letter explaining that they had acquired the department store’s credit card business last year.    » read more »

- ND Becomes One of the First Universities to Accept Contactless Credit Card Payments with blink
- Fighting Irish fans spend less time in concession stand lines during football, hockey, basketball games; Earn points for all card purchases